Famine, spiritual

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A state of spiritual hunger arising from a failure to experience the presence and joy of God. Scripture describes such experiences, indicates one ultimate cause to be unbelief and points to ways in which this famine can be relieved.

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The experience of spiritual famine

God’s word is withheld

Amos 8:11–12 ESV
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
See also 1 Sa 3:1; Ps 74:9; La 2:9; Eze 7:26; Lk 23:8–9

God’s Spirit is withheld

Psalm 51:11 ESV
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
See also Ps 107:33–34

Causes of spiritual famine

Sin

Isaiah 59:2 ESV
but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Unbelief

Acts 13:46 ESV
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
See also Ac 28:25–28

Worldliness

Isaiah 55:2 ESV
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

False beliefs

Isaiah 8:19–22 ESV
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Self-satisfaction

Re 3:17 It is possible to be well-fed physically but famished spiritually.

Testing God

See also Ps 78:18–19; Ps 78:29–31

God testing his servants

Job 23:3; Job 23:8–10

Consequences of spiritual famine

Spiritual weakness

Psalm 119:81 ESV
My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.
See also Ps 84:2

Loss of hope and joy

Joel 1:16 ESV
Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
See also Ps 51:12

Relief of spiritual famine

Relief is promised to God’s people

Psalm 107:9 ESV
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
See also Ps 85:8–13; Is 58:11; Is 65:21; Am 9:13–15

Relief comes through Jesus Christ

John 6:35 ESV
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
See also Is 9:1–3; Lk 1:53; Jn 6:32–33; Jn 6:48; Jn 6:50; Jn 6:58; 1 Co 10:3–4

Relief comes by the word

Isaiah 55:10–11 ESV
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
See also Mt 4:4; Dt 8:3

Relief comes by the Spirit

Acts 2:17 ESV
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
See also Joe 2:28; Ps 107:35–38; Is 35:1–10; Is 44:3

Final relief is found in heaven

Revelation 7:16 ESV
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
See also Is 49:9–10; Ps 16:11; Re 21:6

Conditions of relief from spiritual famine

It is offered freely

Isaiah 55:1 ESV
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
See also Jn 7:37; Re 22:17

It is for those who desire it

Matthew 5:6 ESV
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
See also Lk 6:21

It is for those who pray

Ps 107:4–9; Jas 5:16

It is for those who repent

Ps 81:8–10; Is 64:9–10; Ho 14:1–8; Joe 2:13–14

It is for those who have patience

James 5:7 ESV
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
See also Ps 126:4–6; Ec 11:1; Jn 4:35; Jas 5:16–18
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